Medical Malpractice/malpractice?

QuestionI am on my fourth back surgery in a years time...I have had two lamenectomys(SP?) L5 s1 Recently had a posterior lumbar fusion at l5 s1..Complained about severe pain after surgery finally i believe 2 weeks after surgery my neurosurgeon did an xray my spacer migrated out of my spine and up near my vena cava and aorta. I am now seeing another surgeon because it has to be removed, my new neuro surgeon and vascular surgeon say that it may wear away at my arteries causing internal bleeding. They are going in anteriorly to remove it , refusing it from the front and possibly flipping me over to cut me open posteriorly because my clamp also may be loose and need removed. Could this be a malpractice case and have you ever heard of a spacer migrating out? I have seen lots of xray and mri cat scan techs and surgeons knowone has seen this before..Thanks in advance for your input!!

AnswerIf all of those medical experts haven't seen a problem like yours before, imagine how small the chances are that a lawyer knows anything about it. Here is what you need to do: firstly, determine what the time limit is in your State (I would have done it for you but you didn't mention where you are). Gooogle as follows: [name of your State] Statute of Limitations Medical Malpractice. In all States I beleive, the clock starts to run when you discovered or should have discovered that you were harmed by possible malpractice. Arguably, that would have been when you were first told about the spacer.

Problem is, no lawyer is going to jump on the case unless at the end of the day, you end up with a severe and longterm injury or disability or worse. The case would be defended strenuously on the basis that the surgeon did everything right, or at least within the standard of care and the migration of the spacer was not due to negligence, poor surgical technique, or was even forseeable to happen. Oftentimes things go wrong and it is not always someone's (the surgeon's) fault, at least on a legal basis.

So, check the Statute. If it is a one year Statute, contact a local lawyer and find out about extending it. In my State of CA, this can be done by sending a 90 day notice to the defendant doctor. Then, have the surgery and see where it ends up. If you make a good recovery and do not have a lifetime problem as a result of some negligence, no lawyer will take the case notwithstanding all the exta surgery, temporary threat to your life and limb, etc. The lawyer would have to spend a lot of money and hundreds of hours of work so unless your damages are well into the 6 figures, just not worth it. Hope this helps. Good luck.